


To the moon and back

by HellionWolf



Series: A Different Flight Pattern [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Friendship, Lonely Keith, M/M, Minor Angst, On the Moon, flying together, sad keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 06:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15812991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HellionWolf/pseuds/HellionWolf
Summary: “Go get him,” Keith told his wolf. With the sound of cracks, Kosmos was gone, appearing shortly with James beside him.“Whoa” James managed to mutter as he reoriented himself within the Altean-crafted ship.“Welcome to the Black Lion,” Keith announced, turning in his seat to look at James. His fellow cadet had a look of both terror and amazement.





	To the moon and back

The following morning, when Keith attempted to join the other Paladins for breakfast, he was met with an empty dining room. Confused by the absence of his friends, he flipped open his com-link and tried to reach Shiro. A few seconds passed before Shiro finally answered.

“Hey Keith, what's going on?”

“Uh, where is everyone?”

“With their families I guess. Allura and Coran are with me,” Shiro answered, the chatter of the Atlas crew nearly drowning out his reply.

“Oh, I thought we would still, uh, nevermind.” Keith didn’t have it in him to admit he was jealous of them. Patting Kosmos’ head, Keith ended the com-link and went to the nearest chair. His teleporting wolf gave a grunt before trying to join Keith in the impossibly small chair; not that Keith minded, he liked the comfort provided by the large animal. He pulled Kosmo closer, barely able to balance the weight of the huge wolf in his lap. Despite the wolf’s warmth, Keith’s jealousy was persistent and continued to grow as he gazed at the empty breakfast table. Annoyed at himself, he got up and made a basic breakfast of eggs and toast, missing the way Hunk cooked. Keith made it his goal to keep himself busy until the others were ready to be active Paladin again. It was the right thing to do as the leader of Voltron but it didn’t make it any less difficult. Tossing his dishes into the sink to clean up later, he headed out with every intention to find some way to kill time.

He managed to find his way around the Garrison with relative ease, despite the years since his own time on the massive base. New buildings had been made in the months since becoming a hub for all intergalactic peace-keeping. The Garrison had added more living quarters to help those fleeing the remaining Galra warlords and massive hangers to house the new technologies being brought in every day. It took some getting used to, the Garrison was fairly proficient in expanding the base that in a matter of months and they wasted no time expanding. Sprouting up like weeds and creating a constant motion type atmosphere for those navigating the base. Nothing felt stagnant anymore, not that Keith minded, constant motion helped him feel busy and kept the worst of his loneliness at bay.

Upon finding the nearest vacant gym, Keith began practicing his hand to hand combat against the newly integrated Altean training system. The longer he kept busy with avoiding the simulation’s attack, the easier it felt to pretend the ache in his chest didn’t exist. He could forget that everyone else had families closer than his. Lives that didn’t involve him. Creeping back from the depths of his once space-crazed mind, Keith hated the pin-pricks of anxiety that crawled down his spine. What if they never became Voltron again? Would Hunk really give up being the Yellow Paladin now that they were back on Earth? Loneliness stirred up old feelings of abandonment. It seemed easier to forget who he had become with Voltron. Revert to how he used to be, the lone wolf.

At a loss for the amount of time that had past, Keith wiped the sweat from his brow as he checked the time. Surprising himself with his stamina and the time spent, Keith took to the showers before heading toward the hanger; suited in his red armor.

The day was pleasant with clear skies and a warm breeze. A few cadets waved in his direction as he passed, but the only reply he could muster was a small nod. He didn’t feel confident he could make small talk right now. One cadet seemed disappointed by Keith’s nonchalant response. Keith did his best not to feel guilty. Falling into old patterns, he felt himself slip into ‘brooding Keith mode.’ It helped with keeping other cadets away long enough for him to arrive at the hanger.

James hadn’t arrived at the hanger yet, which gave Keith enough time to do a walk around the Black Lion. Prodding her gently with their bond, he smiled when she greeted him in her usual deep rumble that reminded him of a purr. Boarding the Black Lion, Keith went through the usual systems check while Kosmo busied himself with sniffing around the cockpit. Her core was fully charged and ready to go. All that was left was to wait for James' arrival.

Thankfully he didn’t have to wait long. From the window, he could see a door open and James emerged.

“Go get him,” Keith told his wolf. With the sound of cracks, Kosmos was gone, appearing shortly with James beside him.

“Whoa” James managed to mutter as he reoriented himself within the Altean-crafted ship.

“Welcome to the Black Lion,” Keith announced, turning in his seat to look at James. His fellow cadet had a look of both terror and amazement.

“How do you read all this?” He asked gesturing to all the various systems panels.

“I don’t really know, I think the bond does most of the work. I can’t explain it.” Keith confessed feeling an odd sense of embarrassment for his inability to answer what he felt was a simple question. “Princess Allura could explain it, or maybe Coran, Pidge could for sure.” He added as an afterthought. James didn’t seem to mind, but Keith still made the mental note to have someone explain it to him.

“So how long until she can fly?”

“Right now. Lions don’t have a programmed launch sequence. She is always ready,”

“Even more impressive” James mused, but before he could form another question, Keith took the controls and began to walk the lion out of the hanger. Once outside Keith felt settled again, he could focus on flying now, no more questions he couldn’t answer.

“Where to?”

“What is her range?”

“Um, the edge of the universe,” Keith deadpanned. James gave him a look that made Keith smirk. “I mean, she can go anywhere,” he explained, realizing that he liked the shocked expression that seemed to have been permanently affixed to James’ face since boarding Black.

“Not that far, at least not today,” James answered, Keith agreed. He couldn’t help but want to see the sort of faces James would make if they traveled to the end to the universe.

“How about the moon,” Keith suggested. “Our moon,” he clarified for James, who nodded in agreement. “Alright,” Keith flexed his arms and gave them a shake, his grip tightened on Black’s controls. There was a brief pause before Black launched upward. James’ hand slipped from his grip on the back of the pilot’s chair and settled on Keith’s shoulder. Neither bothered to point it out.

Keith wanted to show off Black’s abilities. He demonstrated her swiftness by weaving the gigantic Lion through the desert like he did with the MFE the day before. She covered more ground in a second then the MFE could in a minute. He climbed up into the sky before diving down, pulling up at the last second. James cheered him on, excited by the rush of riding in such an advanced ship. Confident that James seemed to be enjoying himself, Keith tilted the Lion up to the clouds and shot forward.

Leaving the atmosphere without a hitch, Keith guided the Lion to sit on the light side of the moon. A picturesque view of Earth suspended in the vastness of space before them.

“She is fast!” James exclaimed once they landed. He felt a little more at ease with her stationary. It was one thing to fly the fastest Garrison plane but something entirely different to ride in the Black Lion.

“You should experience a wormhole. That is fast enough that time doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I’ll stick with planes and shuttles,” James replied. Keith admittedly wasn’t the best at reading emotions, but he could sense a bit of nervousness coming from James. Keith wanted to prompt James for more info but ended up not needing to. “I never liked the idea of never seeing Earth again. It’s my only home. I’ll defend her until the end.” Caught off guard by James’ confession, Keith remained quiet. The silence drew on, feeling like it would go on forever, but James broke it. “After the invasion, everything became too real. With the new ships and Atlas, we can travel further than ever before. Earth is this new hub for rebels and refugees from all over the universe. I’m not ready for that,” James paused, Keith wanted to say something but the pause didn’t last long. “Funny isn’t it, a Garrison pilot afraid to leave our solar system and risk getting lost in space,” James’ tone was darker than before.

“I was scared too. When the five of us were inside the Blue Lion I didn’t know where we were going, I-”

“Are you saying I should be scared?” James interrupted

“No! I’m not! I just wanted you to know your not the only one afraid of being lost,” Keith shot back, a rawness to his voice. There was a vulnerability in his expression that he still wasn’t used to showing his fellow Paladin, let alone another cadet. James shut his mouth, crossed his arms and let the silence grow again. They watched Earth from the moon for what felt like hours. It was Keith’s turn to break the silence by clearing his throat.

“I’m not good at this feeling thing. But I’m trying. It is really just really difficult for me.” His voice came out smaller and softer than before. James cocked a brow and hummed his acknowledgment.

“I’m not good at this. Aliens are a real thing, so at least we both can improve on something. Together,” James muttered in his own softer tone.

“Together?”

“Yeah. I’ll help you with the feeling stuff and you can help me with the alien stuff,”

“Seriously?”

“Of course.”

“Okay.”

“You don’t trust me?” James asked. Keith avoided eye contact, staring out the window of the Lion. “That’s okay we can work on it.”

“Why are you doing this?” Keith asked, his tone direct and flat. James shifted his gaze this time. He half expected Keith to push for a reply; instead, Keith waited. James knew the answer but his brain refused to put it into words. Tongue-tied, as he was, James felt even more on the spot the longer Keith watched him. The way Keith’s violet-hued eyes watched him was enough to spur a flush of his cheeks and a desire to fix his hair. Adding insult was his hair’s refusal to cooperate. Keith, who had been waiting for a reply, smiled. His thin-lined grin turned into a chuckle and before they could stop themselves they were laughing loudly together.

Patting his chest in an attempt to stop laughing, James caught his breath and Keith did the same. True laughter had been such a rarity for Keith, he hadn’t realized that he missed it. Catching their breath together, Kosmo gave a whine for attention. Keith tapped the top of his thigh and his wolf placed his head there. While Keith absently stroked the wolf’s ears, both cadets settled into a content quiet.

The question ignored, for now, James moved to sit on the floor of the cockpit. Kosmo turned his attention to James. He eyed the human’s lap before making it known that all laps were his to lounge in. Ignoring any sound of protest, the teleporting wolf curled up into James’ lap, nudging James’ hand to start petting him. Keith watched as he settled back into his chair, arms crossed loosely in front of his chest. He wasn’t jealous, in fact, he was glad that Kosmo enjoyed James’ presence enough to deem him worthy of being a chair. Trying not to get caught up in watching the two, Keith lazily scrolled through various systems checks and com-frequencies.

“I’m doing this because before all of that happened we would have been on the same flight crew and I would have become your friend the right way,” James finally answered. Keith turned his head slightly, taking a moment to register what James was speaking about. The this was the two of them spending time together. The that was likely the fight and cruel words said years ago. The latter not registering on Keith’s radar anymore. There were bigger fights to worry about.

“There is a right way to make friends?” Keith questioned, confused by the idea. James gave a shrug. Keith had a point.

“I guess not, my point is I wanted to know you during cadet training and I still want to know you.”

“Why?” Keith asked an eyebrow raised.

“Because you are the best. And I wanted to learn from the best. Even if you hated everyone, I hoped that someday you would want to fly with me,” James’ words came out rushed and exasperated. As if years of holding it back didn’t matter anymore.

“Shiro was always better,”

“Not true and you know it,” James replied, his voice back to normal. Keith couldn’t help but stare at James, half expecting him to say more but the longer he remained silent the more uncomfortable James looked.

“You wanted to fly with me?” Keith backtracked.

“You are thick sometimes. Of course, I did! I wanted to be your friend,” James told him, looking back at Kosmo still relaxed in his lap. He was grateful that the wolf didn’t move too much, it helped to keep him calm.

“Why?”

James couldn’t help but glare at Keith’s question.

“I like you! You were the quiet one, but when you said something it was either crazy funny or really profound. I wanted to get to know you. Then I put my foot in my mouth and screwed it up. Damn it! I’m rambling. Can we start over? I’m James Griffin. Garrison Pilot.” He extended his hand from his awkward position still on the floor with the large blue wolf happily lounging in his lap. Rising up from the pilot’s chair and kneeling so they would be level with each other, He took James’ hand and gave it a solid shake.

“I’m Keith Kogane, a Paladin of Voltron and the Pilot of the Black Lion,” Keith used the formal introduction. James accepted the re-introduction and both cadets smiled, clearing the air with relative ease. Kosmo gave a small bark for attention before his snout nuzzled into Keith's face sending both pilots into laughter. Kosmo, excited by the change of emotional atmosphere, began to jump around and bark in excitement.

“I think he wants to play.”

“I think Coran made him a sort of suit for planets with less favorable conditions,” Keith told him as he left the cockpit and headed for the cargo hold. James followed after him, confused.

“You aren’t suggesting we take him out there are you?”

“Why not? I have a suit for you too and I’m sure it would be nice to explore the moon.”

“Seriously?”

“No point lying to you. Here.” Keith replied, as he handed James an Altean designed suit, helmet included. Kosmo and his uncanny ability to sense when things were going to be fun, flicked his tail back and forth. Eager to run around even if it was on a low gravity moon. Keith attached his helmet and waited for James to suit up. Kosmo had his own suit put on and it fit him well, the canine waited happily for James. Slipping on the borrowed suit over his clothes, James returned his attention to Keith. Once his suit was on, there was a serious of cracks and he was outside of the Black Lion. Caught off guard by the weightless feeling, he reached out for Keith’s arm. “Give the suit a minute and it will adjust to your weight and help you stabilize. Pretty soon you’ll be walking just fine.” Keith explained, and just as he said it, the suit started to settle and James was securely on the ground. “There are small jetpacks if you want to jump, but for the most part, you should stay on the surface. Kosmo needed no prompting to start playing and quickly was caught up in a game with Keith. James had no idea what the game was, but he could guess it involved Kosmo trying to jump onto Keith while Keith dodged the ‘attacks.’ Not an active player in the game, James was content watching the two while he wandered around the moon. He didn’t venture far, but he found himself a spot with an even better view of Earth. Lost in the beauty of his home, James didn’t notice Keith was nearby until Kosmo gave his leg a headbutt.

“I’ve seen a lot of planets, but nothing was as beautiful as Earth.”

“I believe it.”

“Let’s go back then,” Keith told him, reaching for his forearm to pull him a bit closer. Without warning, a series of cracks were heard, and they were back inside Black Lion. Stepping out to gain his balance, James wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to being teleported by an alien wolf. Kosmo teleported out of his suit while James slipped his off with ease. Keith took up the pilot’s chair again. “Hold on,” He warned James, before launching Black into an almost immeasurable speed. James again clung to the pilot chair.

Breaking into Earth’s atmosphere, Keith guided her toward the Garrison, and with an almost uncanny grace, landed the massive Lion near the hanger. Before the two could say anything, an image of Shiro appeared on the com-link screen.

“Keith. You're needed to speak with some new refugees.” Keith nodded. The call was over as quickly as it started.

“Duty calls I guess,” Keith told James as he rose up from his chair and headed for the exit ramp. Once the three of them were on solid ground again, Keith headed for the command room, but James caught his arm to stop him.

“I meant what I said.” James reminded him. Keith nodded in agreement. James smiled at his response, which made Keith smile back.

“I’ll call you after the meeting,” Keith told him.

“Sounds good,” James replied a larger smile on his lips. They parted but waved just moments after. Kosmo was caught between the two and a little confused why they weren’t walking together. Kosmo teleported to James’ side and gave his hand a headbutt before teleporting back to Keith’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! I love this ship and want to keep writing for them! Comments and Kudos give me life!!!
> 
> If you have a request please feel free to send them via Tumblr OR in the comment section. 
> 
> my main: http://hellionwolf.tumblr.com/  
> my side Tumblr: http://writingsonhellswalls.tumblr.com/


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